Student indebtedness

Typical full-time university students spent more than $11,000 to put themselves through an eight-month academic program in 2001/02. The median spending for full-time university students (the point at which half of students spent more and half spent less) amounted to $11,200. The median for college students was $9,330 and for CEGEP students was $4,550.

Living at home cuts non-educational costs in half. University students who lived at home spent a median of about $4,500 on non-educational expenses, compared with $8,160 for those who lived away from home.

Students have been borrowing more and more to cover their fees and living expenses during their student careers. For the class of 2000, college graduates with debt owed almost $13,000 to all sources. Graduates from a university bachelor’s program debt owed about $20,000.

Most education debt was to government student loan programs: 41% of college graduates and 45% of bachelor graduates left school with government student loans. College graduates with debt to government student loan programs owed an average of $12,600 and bachelor graduates owed $19,500.

Two years after graduation, one in five college and bachelor graduates with government student debt had paid it off completely. For those with debt still remaining two years after graduation, almost one-quarter of the debt had been paid off.

Most graduates with debt did not report difficulties paying their debt. Only 24% of bachelor graduates and 30% of college graduates reported difficulties with repayment.

A small, but notable proportion of graduates left school with large debts. One in seven bachelor graduates, about 14%, owed $25,000 or more in government student loans upon graduating.

Although there was no change in the percentage of graduates with government student debt, college and bachelor graduates from the class of 2000 owed more, on average, than borrowers from the class of 1995.

Students in bachelor programs who graduated in 2000 owed about 30% more than the class of 1995 and 76% more than the class of 1990 (in 2000 constant dollars). College graduates with government student loans owed 21% more than in 1995 and 76% more than the class of 1990.